Roger Goodell Blasted by Current and Former NFL Players on Twitter

Roger Goodell is taking a serious beating in the court of public opinion. Every day this week has seen new reports and accusations that the NFL either knew or elected not to know what really happened between Ray Rice and Janay Palmer in that elevator.

The latest damaging report? A law enforcement official told the Associated Press that he sent a copy of the Ray Rice video to an NFL executive five months ago. The official played the AP a 12-second voicemail from an NFL office number from April 9. The woman in the voicemail confirmed that the video had been received and said, “You’re right, it’s terrible.”

The response from Roger Goodell to this latest piece of news was twofold. First he said nope, didn’t happen. Then he hired former FBI director Robert S. Mueller III to conduct a probe into how the league pursued and handled evidence.

Ostensibly this is supposed to make it look like Roger Goodell has nothing to hide. However, at this point the league has had plenty of time to dispatch with damaging evidence and get its story straight. Moreover, the entire probe is going to be overseen by Giants owner John Mara and Steelers owner Art Rooney—i.e. president and vice president of the NFL’s Good Ol’ Boy Club.

Besides, everybody knows that somebody is lying. And, frankly, it seems unlikely that the AP would put its neck out there and publish the law enforcement official’s claim if they were not satisfied with the evidence he was able to offer.

So things are not going very well for Roger Goodell. And now former and even current NFL players are weighing in.

Former Arizona quarterback John Skelton:

NFL players get fined for avoiding the media and Q&A sessions. Goodell hand picks an interviewer and network. #hypocrite